Immunomodulatory activities of proteins from Astragalus membranaceus waste.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine and has a long history of medical applications. It is of interest to investigate the functional components of Astragalus membranaceus waste to its development and utilization, and increasing resource utilization.

RESULTS: A protein (AMWP) was isolated from the Astragalus membranaceus waste, and AMWP was further purified by DEAE-cellulose-52 chromatography and Sephadex G-200 size-exclusion chromatography to obtain three fractions named AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6. Then their immunomodulatory activities were evaluated by using the cell model experiments. The results indicated that the protein fractions could significantly increase the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes, peritoneal macrophages and bone marrow derived cells (BMDCs). AMWPDG2 showed the highest immunocompetence. AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 not only significantly improved the phagocytosis and immunomodulatory factors (IL-6, TNF-ɑ, NO, H2 O2 ) secretion of peritoneal macrophages, but also promoted the expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12 p40, IL-1β, IL-1ɑ) and chemokines (CXCL1, CCL3) in BMDCs.

CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results indicated that three protein fractions from the Astragalus membranaceus waste might be a potential natural immunomodulator. Moreover, it also provided the theoretical basis for further researching the mechanism of AMWPDG2, AMWPDG4 and AMWPDG6 on improving the immune response. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.